1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus, and, more particularly to an imaging apparatus to which an imaging apparatus main body and a lens barrel including an imaging lens are detachably attachable and in which the lens barrel is replaceable and the lens barrel used in the imaging apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the past, in an imaging apparatus such as a video camera for business use, a lens barrel in which an imaging lens is disposed is detachably mounted on an apparatus main body in which a housing unit for a recording medium and a recording and reproducing unit that writes an information signal in and reads out the information signal from the recording medium are provided. Therefore, the imaging apparatus is used while lens barrels in which various imaging lenses are disposed are appropriately replaced as replacement lenses.
In the imaging apparatus of this type, a camera operator places an apparatus main body on the shoulder, holds the entire imaging apparatus, grips a grip section provided in the lens barrel to thereby adjust an angle of view, and performs operation of an operation unit provided in the grip section.
According to the technical development and demands of camera operators in these days, a reduction in size and weight of imaging apparatus main bodies and recording media are advanced. On the other hand, lens barrels are increased in size and weight according to an increase in magnification of imaging lenses. Therefore, in the imaging apparatus of this type, when the lens barrel is replaced, a weight distribution of the entire imaging apparatus changes and a burden on a camera operator increases.
In particular, whereas the weight of the imaging apparatus main body is fixed, sizes and weights of the lens barrels are different from one another. Therefore, weight balance changes every time a lens barrel is replaced. In addition, in the imaging apparatus, the camera operator grips the grip section provided in the lens barrel to thereby change a direction and adjust an angle of view of the lens barrel and perform operation for imaging. A burden on the camera operator further increases as the weight balance changes.
Moreover, in the video camera for business use and a high-end model for high-level amateur users, there is proposed a model for allowing a camera operator to replace a lens barrel even in a handy-type video camera that is gripped an entire image apparatus by one hand. In such a handy-type video camera, the influence of a change in weight balance in the entire imaging apparatus due to replacement of the lens barrel on the arm of the camera operator is considered to further increase.
In such a handy-type video camera, in the past, when the lens barrel used in the video camera for business use placed on the shoulder of the camera operator and handled is attached, since a grip is present in a position suitable for a shoulder-mounted type, such a grip and the center of gravity of the handy-type video camera deviate from each other. Therefore, it is difficult for the camera operator to hold the video camera with sufficient balance simply by gripping the grip.
An example of the technique in the past is disclosed in JP-A-2006-72245.